Dual purpose parachute pack



1942. s. M. BAILEY ETAL 2,293,702

DUAL PURPOSE PARACHUTE PACK Filed Jan. 31, 1941 INVENTOR SM. 84 ILEY kGALLOWAY Patented Aug. 25, 1942 DUAL PURPOSE PARACHUTE PACK Samuel M. Bailey, James J. Galloway, and Edgar W. Smith, United States Navy Application January 31, 1941, Serial No. 376,936

(01. 244-148) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

3 Claims.

amended April 30, 1928; 370

This invention relates to a dual purpose parachute pack and has for an object to provide a parachute pack designed primarily for the use of parachute troops.

A further object of this invention is to provide a parachute pack which may be opened either manually by means of the conventional rip cord, or .by means of a static line adapted to be attached to the aeroplane from which the parachutist has jumped.

A further object of this invention is to provide a dual purpose parachute pack which will be opened positively either manually or by means of a static line attached to the aeroplane.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a parachute pack which has a static rip cord adapted to be attached to a line extending from the aeroplane and which also has a manually operable rip cord 50 that the pack maybe used should the aeroplane carrying the parachutist encounter difficulty prior to reaching its objective, the manual cord being intended for delayed opening in such cases, While the aeroplane attached static rip cord is intended to be used at a low altitude when the aeroplane has reached its objective, insuring immediate and efiective operation of the parachute without delay once the parachutist has dived clear from the aeroplane,

A further object of this invention is to provide a static rip cord pin holding means which will be operative should the line be pulled in any other direction than in a straight line.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a means of effectively ejecting the pilot chute simultaneously with the operation of the static rip cord, which means will not interfere with the normal operation of the manual rip cord should the manual rip cord have to be used.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and illustrated in the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the dual purpose parachute pack of this invention connected for operation with the static line connected to the aeroplanes cable;

Fig. 2 is a plan view similar to Fig. 1, but with the protective closing device in uncovered position;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with the protective closing device omitted; and

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the protective closing device per se.

There is shown at It! the parachute pack of this invention. This parachute pack contains a conventional parachute packed therein. A breakable cord having a loop |2 formed at one end thereof extends within the pack and is attached to the pilot chute, this cord being intended to break at about thirty pounds pull thereon. The parachute pack l consists of the usual cross-shaped pack having top and bottom panels l3 and M and side panels l5 and I6, except that the edge section I? of side panel l5 fails to overlap the edge section l8 of side panel E6. The panels I5 and it are connected around the back of the pack as customary by a plurality of bungee cords l9 fastened through the eye hooks adjacent their edge strips I1 and I8. The edge strip I1 is provided with a plurality of conventional rip cord apertured cones 2| while the edge strip |B instead of overlapping edge strip l1 and being provided with eyelets to cooperate with the apertured cones 2| fails to overlap the edge strip I! and is provided with a vertically extending bungee cord 22 securely fastened thereto, at least at the pairs of points 23 and 24, and also at the ends 25. An eyelet protective closing device 26, shown detached in Fig. 4, is divided into a closing device portion 21 and a protective cover portion 28, the protective cover portion 28 being foldable along a hinge line 30 over the eyelet panel portion 21 and being secured thereto by cooperating snap fastening elements 3| and 32.

The closing device portion 21 is provided with a plurality of eyelets 33 and 34 so spaced and located that when the protective closing device 26 is placed over the pack It, the eyelets 33 correspond in position and location to the apertured cones 2| while the eyelets 34 correspond in position and location to the bungee cord portions 39 between pairs of fastenings 23 and 24. As thus placed in position, the apertured cones 2| extend through the eyelets 33 and the rip cord pins 35 of the manually operable rip cord 36 are passed through the apertured cones 2|, thus holding the edge section ll of flap IS in closedposition. By means of a button hook or the like, the bungee portions 39 of the bungee cord 22 between bungee fastenings 23 and 24 are lifted up through the eyelets 34 permitting the pins 31 of the static rip cord 38 to be passed therebeneath, thus holding the edge section l8 of side flap It in secured position, thereby holding the parachute pack in closed assembled position. Thereafter, in assembling the parachute, the protective closing device section 38 is folded over hinge line 30 and held by snap fasteners 3| and -32 in the rip cord pin protective position as shown in Fig. 1.

In operation, this parachute serves the dual purpose of being capable of manual operation by the parachutist at any time and being capable of operation by a static cord attached to an aeroplane cable when the aeroplane has reached its objective. Should the parachutist find it necessary to jump from the aeroplane before the aeroplane has reached its objective, he uses this parachute in a conventional manner, merely jumping from the aeroplane and operating the manual rip cord 36, thereby pulling the rip cord pins 35 out of the apertured cones 2|, permitting the parachute to open due to the operation of the bungee cords I9, the protective closing device panel 21 then acting merely as an extension of edge section l8 of side panel l6.

If, however, the aeroplane has reached its obiective, it will be usually flying as low as possible with the intention of discharging its parachutists as simultaneously and as close as possible to its objective. In this case, the aeroplan will be provided with a number of cables 40 corresponding in number with the number of parachutists carried, each cable 40 being provided with a snap hook 41. As the aeroplane reaches its objective, each parachutist will connect the hook 4| of his cable 40 to the loop l2 on his pilot chute break cord II and to the loop 42 on his static rip cord 38. It will be observed that this static cord 38 extends in the opposite direction from the manual rip cord 36, it being intended that the parachutist will dive head first from the aeroplane. As soon as he dives overboard the length of the aeroplane cable 40 limits the distance that he will fall from the aeroplane before his paratchute is opened by the static cord 38 pulling the pins 31 from beneath the bungee cord portions 39, thereby releasing the edge portion 18 of flap l6 from the panel 21 which now acts as an extension of edge portion H, the side panel remaining attached thereto by means of the rip cord pins 35 of the unused manual rip cord 36. Simultaneously, the breakable cord H pulls the pilot chute out from the pack putting it into instant operation and then the cord I I immediately breaks due to the weight being greater than the breaking strength thereof, thereby separating the parachutist from the aeroplane with his pilot chute already in operating position by the time he has reached a distance equal to the aeroplane cord 40. Due to the use of bungee cord portions 39 on this static cord 38, the opening of the parachute under action of the static cord 38 is positively assured, even though the parachutist may extend at any other direction than a straight line from the cable 40 at the time of operation, and the locking pins 31 cannot possibly jam. Should the parachutist happen to be at right angles or even reverse position to the direction of the cable 40, the pins 31 may be easily pulled from beneath the bungee cord portions 39, it

being possible that the snap fasteners 3| and 32 5 may simultaneously be opened by the static rip cord 38, but such will not slow up or interfere with the release of the static rip cord locking pins 31 from the bungee cord portions 39 at any angle.

Other modifications and changes in the proportions and arrangements of the parts may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the nature of the invention, within the scope of what is hereinafter claimed.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

1. A dual purpose parachute pack having op-' positely extending parachute enclosing flaps and means for opening said flaps, dual purpose rip cord means preventing said flaps from opening, said rip cord means comprising a manually operable rip cord and a static rip cord, either of said rip cord means being independently effective to release said parachute enclosing flaps, a rip cord cooperating protective closing device detachably secured to each of said oppositely extending flaps by one of said rip cord means, said oppositely extending flaps having rip cord locking pin receiving means thereon, and cooperating rip cord eyelet means on said rip cord protective closing device, one of said rip cord receiving means comprising a bungee cord secured along one extending flap at pairs of spaced points to receive the static line rip cord pins beneath the portions of the bungee cord between the points of said pairs of spaced securing points.

2. In a parachute pack having cooperating overlapping flaps and means on said cooperating flaps for releasably holding said flaps in overlapping position, said means including an eyelet in one of the flaps and a cooperating means on the other of the flaps adapted to be extended through the eyelet means and held in such extended position by a parachute rip cord pin; the cooperating means comprising a bungee cord secured to its flap at a pair of spaced apart points.

3. In a parachute pack having cooperating overlapping flaps and means on said cooperating flaps for releasably holding said flaps in overlapping position, said means including an eyelet in one of th flaps and a cooperating means on the other of the flaps adapted to be extended through the eyelet means and held in such extended position by a parachute rip cord pin; the cooperating means comprising a bungee cord secured to its flap at a pair of spaced apart points, said spaced apart points providing a bungee cord portion therebetween adapted to extend through the eyelet and receive and releasably hold the rip cord pin beneath such bungee portion and against the eyelet.

SAMUEL M. BAILEY. JAMES J. GALLOWAY. EDGAR W. SMITH. 

